The Battle of Coruscant
by kelleher
Summary: AU; Mostly Han & Leia but has all the usual OT suspects. Set immediately after the end of the original theatrical version of ROTJ (so no "weesa free" or toppling of statues has occurred). The Rebellion attempts to achieve final victory over the Empire on Coruscant while Leia struggles with Luke's revelation of her parentage.
1. Chapter 1: After the Celebration

**Sorry everybody...I'm going to be doing this one chapter by chapter just to get something up online and to help give myself encouragement to continue. This story's going to take a while to get through...**

Chapter One: After the Celebration

The victory celebration continued on deep into the night, becoming more and more raucous as Alliance pilots joined the party in the Ewok village. Fireworks sparkled across the sky along with the flaming remains of the Death Star still hitting the atmosphere, joyful shouts of victory echoed through the forest, and too many intoxicants found their way into human and Ewok alike.

Han hadn't even touched a drop, Leia noted as she observed the revelers. That certainly wasn't like him. He could happily toss it back as efficiently as your average Corellian, but tonight - on the night of the Alliance's greatest victory yet - he'd chosen not to, and she knew why: he needed to get some answers from her, and he intended to be stone cold sober while asking his questions.

They hadn't had another moment alone since Wicket had interrupted them this afternoon, right after she'd revealed to Han that Luke was her brother. Of course, she'd only told him a part of the truth...the part that felt good and right. She'd considered Luke a brother for longer than he'd want to know; really, ever since that one kiss on Hoth which had felt ridiculously uncomfortable the moment her lips touched his, but which had been so effective in frustrating the infuriating man she hadn't yet been willing to admit she loved.

She hadn't yet explained to Han the terrible revelation about her lineage that came along with her newfound sibling. She felt her stomach clench as she thought about telling him the whole truth. It was too painful to share but too important to hide, and Han needed to know everything so he could make his own decisions about what it meant to any future they might have. But first, she needed a minute alone to refocus her tired mind and steel herself to whatever was to come. She quietly ducked away into the forest, hoping she was leaving unnoticed.

No such luck.

Han saw her departing and quickly excused himself from the group surrounding Lando, who was deep in his cups and in the midst of embellishing his exploits in the Death Star battle while, Han was convinced, avoiding Han's eyes. He'd damaged the Falcon somehow, Han just knew it. He wanted to push the issue, but whatever was going on with Leia was more important.

He shook his head as he walked into the forest. Something...someone...took precedence over the Falcon? It never stopped surprising him how Leia made what he'd thought were the most important things in his life take a backseat. Probably making him soft too, he grumped to himself. Not that he'd trade it all for anything in the galaxy, but it was more than a little unnerving. And right now, something was terribly wrong with Leia, no matter how hard she was trying to hide it. He could read those chocolate-brown eyes like a datapad, and after an intense conversation he'd seen her have with Luke tonight - the second in two days - those eyes were filled with pain. And the kid had left the celebration soon after.

Ah, hell, what was going on? Shouldn't they all, just for this one moment, be happy? Vader and the Emperor were dead. That seemed reason enough to celebrate. He especially wanted to raise a glass or six to Vader's demise, as that black-helmeted sonofabitch had nearly killed Han and everyone he cared about over the last few standard years. Han's only regret in this whole thing was that he hadn't pulled the trigger on the Death Star himself, but Madine had made a specific point of asking him to handle things on the ground on Endor. Madine's decision to take his best pilot out of the sky hadn't made much sense to Han at the time, but given how much hot-wiring and sneaking around he'd done in the last two days, Han realized Madine was shrewder than he thought. Not many Alliance generals had a significant background in breaking-and-entering.

He came to a stop as, through the fog of the Endor night, he saw Leia standing on one of the rickety suspension bridges that held the Ewok village together. As always when he saw her alone, he was reminded of how delicate she was, something that never crossed his mind when they were fighting side-by-side. Then, she stood as tall and as tough as any man on his strike team. But when he saw her like this, sad and small, every protective instinct he had kicked right in. She may not appreciate that, he thought, but he couldn't help it.

"Leia?" he called, wondering if she was as upset as she'd been last night when he'd...well, acted like an idiot when he'd seen her with Luke. He could hardly believe that was only last night. It had been a hell of a long and confusing day.

She looked up at him. "They're all celebrating as if the Empire has fallen."

"It was a big win, Leia. Biggest we've ever had."

"We've?"

"Looks like I'm stuck with your crazy Alliance now, Princess," Han grumbled, confident that Leia would know he didn't mean a word of his complaining.

"Coruscant hasn't surrendered."

"I have a feeling that we'll all be back at our posts soon enough. Let them blow off some steam tonight."

"Yes, General," she managed a small smile. "Why aren't you blowing off steam?"

Tread carefully, Han, he thought. "Because I'm thinkin' that we need to talk."

She nodded, but gave him nothing more.

"Leia, I'm real confused here. I still haven't managed to wrap my brain around you and Luke-" She nodded again, but still said nothing. Han felt a prickle of annoyance; was she going to talk to him or not? He couldn't be expected to guess-

Suddenly, before he even realized it, she was in his arms, her lips pressed against his and her hands locked in his hair. She pulled him closer as she deepened their kiss, her tongue exploring his mouth until he was sure he was seeing the stars of Vanek. But that was only more proof that something was deeply wrong. Leia, with her ingrained Alderaanian conservatism, never initiated kisses like this one; he always had to coax her into it and even that coaxing only sometimes worked. Now there was something desperate in the way she clung to him like she did when they were back on Bespin and breaking their kiss could mean breaking apart forever. So he was not going to be the one to let go. Then, just as suddenly as she kissed him, she pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, blushing furiously.

He tried to catch his breath. "I'm not."

"I just wanted to kiss you once more before-"

"Dammit, Leia, what is it? Do you want me to go? Are you telling me we're done?"

"No, I-" she struggled.

"Then what is it? What could be so horrible that last night you couldn't even tell me and tonight you're out here looking like your heart is broken? The Emperor is dead. That black-robed bastard Vader is dead." He didn't notice her flinch at the name as he continued on, gaining steam. "Your crazy rebellion is actually winning this thing, and I finally get to stop worrying that you're going to dump me for Luke no matter how much I love you and now -" he stopped, slapping his hand against the wooden railing. "I'm sorry...I promised myself I wasn't gonna get angry, but Leia, you got me lost here. I'm worried, I don't know what the hell is going on, and it feels a hell of a lot like you're ending us."

Her heart skipped a beat at his use of "us" to describe them. She really only wanted two things at the moment: freedom for the galaxy and to be an "us" with Han. It was so tempting to keep her secret hidden, but she cared too much to let him go on in the dark. " I need to explain what Luke told me last night. Then you get to decide if you still want there to be an 'us.' And I will understand, and I won't blame you, if you don't."

He shook his head. The girl must have gone battle-mad. "Leia, I can't think of anything you could possibly say that would make me walk away."

She smiled grimly. "You haven't heard this," she replied. Resolving herself to get this done as quickly as possible, she called on every ounce of diplomatic instinct and training she had to block out her wildly churning emotions. "Can we speak on the Falcon? I don't want to discuss this in public."

Han saw the change come over her as she assumed the role she had to play in public but no longer chose to play around him. That worried him too. But he nodded and offered his hand. After a brief hesitation, she took it and followed him toward the landing platforms.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Moff Zakine stood on the bridge of the Defiant, the newest Executor-class Star Destroyer in his fleet, sensing that something was terribly wrong. It had been two days since he'd received any communications from Imperial Center, and the last deep space transmission he'd sent to Emperor Palpatine on the Death Star had gone unreturned. He'd heard the rumors of the Rebel fleet massing near Sullust, but he regarded those traitors as little more than resp gnats: annoying but easily slapped. Yet...no communications for two days. He didn't presume to believe he was force-sensitive, but he sensed that something was quite wrong.

"Commander, we have an urgent message for you from Imperial Center," called the young officer working the comm center. "From Grand Moff Essag."

Stranger still, thought Zakine. The Grand Moff rarely communicated directly with Imperial governors, especially those stationed in the Outer Rim. Something was definitely amiss.

"Forward the communication to my personal holo and order Admiral Samsa to join me in my quarters."

"Yes, sir," the officer saluted as Zakine hurried from the bridge.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Han spotted the missing sensor array as soon as the Falcon came into view. That was why Lando had avoided him. So much for not a scratch, Han sighed.

"What is it?" Leia asked.

"Nothin. Just a little damage on her from the battle. It can wait." He didn't even notice that he'd downgraded his beloved ship's importance once again as he saw Luke skulking around the Falcon. "What's the kid want?"

"Probably to resolve an argument he and I had earlier."

"I saw that. What was that all about?"

Now it was Leia's turn to sigh. "We have vastly differing opinions on a very important issue."

"And in Basic, Your Highness?" Han couldn't resist the small needle.

She didn't take the bait. "You'll understand soon." She dropped Han's hand and strode purposefully to Luke. "Luke, I meant what I said."

Luke nodded. "I just want you to consider what I said, too."

"Duly noted." Leia's face hardened as Han did a double-take. He felt like the galaxy was being flipped on its head. This ice-cold composure was the way she sometimes shut him down when they argued, which, thankfully, they didn't do all that much anymore. But he'd never, ever seen her use that tactic on Luke.

"Leia, please. Let me be there when you tell Han. Because you're going to put this in the worst possible light."

"There is no other light, Luke." Leia felt herself caving and she hated herself for it. But she was too tired and sad to fight, and she never really could fight with Luke anyway. He might be a Jedi Knight now, but to her Luke would always be the wide-eyed farmboy who rescued her from the Death Star, and it was impossible to feel she was fighting fair with that gentle soul. "Fine. We tell Han together. But you are going to listen this time - really listen - to what I'm going to say to you."

She hurried up the Falcon's gangway, trying to regain control of her emotions. She didn't have the energy at the moment to deal with both of them, but Luke wasn't going to let it drop. Fantastic. She could lose Han and alienate Luke all at once. That was a perfect way to end a day that should have been one of the best of their lives.

"Whatever you did, kid…" Han mumbled to Luke as they followed Leia onto the Falcon,''...welcome to the world I lived in for two years."

Disturbed as he was by Leia's intransigence, Luke couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, I'm told siblings do tend to fight."

The two men came to a halt as they joined Leia in the Falcon's main hold. She stood with her arms wrapped tightly around her chest, her forehead creased with the effort of holding back her feelings. Her blank stare travelled to Han's worried hazel eyes.

Just tell him, she thought. Don't couch this in the language of diplomacy; he won't appreciate that. Don't try to soften the blow; there is no softening this blow. Just tell him and let the chips fall where they may.

She cleared her dry throat. "Han, you know that I was adopted by the royal family of Alderaan as a baby; I'm not, by birth, of the house of Organa."

He nodded.

"I have vague memories of a woman I believed to be my mother, but I'm even questioning that right now. I never knew my father."

He nodded again.

"Last night, when Luke explained that we were twins, he also told me the identity of our father."

Han saw the unshed tears forming in Leia's eyes. He moved towards her, but she blinked the tears back and raised a hand to stop him.

"Darth Vader is my father."

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

Zakine exhaled sharply as the transmission came to an end. It hardly seemed possible. Palpatine, Vader, and the Death Star. Gone in one fell swoop. He turned to Samsa, who was rooted to the floor, staring at the empty air where the transmission had been.

"Your thoughts?"

"According to the rules of succession, with Palpatine and Vader gone, Grand Moff Essag now becomes our Emperor."

"Yes," Zakine nodded. "And both the Rebellion and every ambitious Moff in the Empire will now challenge that succession. The Rebellion with their fantasies of re-establishing the Republic and the Moffs with their dreams of becoming the Emperor themselves."

"And you, Sir?" Samsa raised an eyebrow.

"Me, Admiral Samsa? I'm simply a loyal servant of the Empire." It was quite obvious that the next battle would be over the Imperial Center. He didn't have a Death Star at his disposal, but there were other ways to destroy a planet, even one with a planetary shield. And the three Executor-class Destroyers in his fleet were more than capable of causing mass casualties on Imperial Center, crushing both the Rebellion and the forces loyal to Grand Moff Essag in short order. Someone would, of course, have to fill that power vacuum. Someone who had three Super Star Destroyers at his command.

"Your orders, Moff Zakine?"

"We do as Grand Moff Essag ordered. Set your course for Imperial Center and order the rest of my fleet to do the same."


	2. Chapter 2: The Revelation

Chapter Two: The Revelation

"Anakin Skywalker was our father," Luke gently corrected as Leia searched Han's face for some sign of his reaction.

Leia whirled on Luke. "And Anakin Skywalker apparently chose to go to the Dark Side and become Darth Vader. It's the same person, Luke, however much you may want to split his personality into two."

"Anakin was—"

"Luke, please, stop!" Leia begged as she turned to Han, who had been uncharacteristically quiet. "Han?"

Han rubbed his eyes, deep in thought. This didn't make any sense to him. Then again, nothing that had happened today made any sense to him, including winning the battle of Endor. "I wanna know who told you all this. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy to believe that you two are brother and sister, but I'm not seeing why Vader's your father."

"Vader told me on Bespin," Luke replied calmly. "And the Emperor confirmed it today."

"Oh, well if those two told you, it must be true," Han snarked to no response. "And if Vader knew you were his kids on Bespin, why didn't he tell Leia when he was forcing us to enjoy lunch with him?" Han unconsciously took Leia's hand as he spoke. She looked up at him, searching for a sign that he was accepting her despite this news, but he was concentrating on the discussion.

"Vader didn't know that there were twins. He didn't know about either one of us for a long time. We were split up and intentionally kept far apart."

"And who told you that?" Han pressed.

"Ben Kenobi."

The old man? Impossible. "You've known this for almost three standard?"

Luke shifted uncomfortably. Han was never going to buy into the next part of his tale, no matter how true it was. How in the universe does one explain a Force Ghost to the galaxy's greatest skeptic? "No. Certain Jedi, when they pass on, have the ability to return to communicate with other Force-sensitives. He told me on Dagobah, after Yoda died."

"So you're tellin' me you know this is true because you heard it from Vader, the Emperor, and a GHOST?" Han didn't mean to raise his voice, but this was crazy. He turned to Leia. "And you buy this?"

Leia hesitated. Han was making some excellent points, but the more she had considered what Luke had told her, the more certain memories from her childhood fell into place. More than that, something in her heart told her it was true.

"I do, Han," she replied softly. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but when I was a child, I could always feel some kind of fear in my parents - my real parents, the people who raised me" she shot a glance at Luke, "- when I asked them about my birth parents. Which, of course, I did all the time. That fear never made sense, especially when they were so open with me about everything else. But this…Vader…wouldn't you hesitate to explain that to a child?"

"Seems like at some point they would have told you."

"Maybe they intended to. Maybe they never got the chance because Tarkin and Vader killed them when they destroyed Alderaan." Leia fixed Luke with a sharp glance.

"And you believe this ghost thing?" Han continued to press.

"I've never known Luke to tell anything but the truth."

"Well, I can't prove or disprove this crazy Vader-is-Dad theory, but there is one thing I can do. Gimme a minute." Han strode purposefully out of the main hold, headed toward the Falcon's medical bay. After some scrounging around, he returned and dropped an instrument on the holochess table.

"A gene sequencer?" Leia questioned. "Why in the stars—"

Han looked at her sheepishly. "Uhhh….something that happened when you were still a very young child."

"Ah. I see." She wasn't quite sure what more to say, but Luke couldn't quite stifle a grin.

"Wasn't mine," Han continued, hoping Leia was too distracted to make an issue out of a youthful indiscretion. "Gimme your hand, Luke. The real one."

Luke dutifully held out his hand. He didn't need any confirmation of something he knew to be true, but if it was going to help his friend come to grips with everything—

"Ouch!" Han's jab was unexpectedly sharp. Luke suspected that was intentional.

Leia silently held out her arm. She didn't react at all as Han jabbed her with the sequencer, then pressed a few buttons. He waited as the sequencer beeped and whirred, then printed out its results.

"Well, you're definitely sister and brother," Han reported. "Too bad no one grabbed a chunk of Vader so we could resolve this thing once and for all."

Leia sighed. "Han, I think it is resolved. As much as I'd rather believe differently."

Han just shook his head. It didn't seem possible. Yet here were the only two humans in the galaxy that he'd trust with his life telling him that it was true.

"Palpatine was killing me, Han." Luke hoped that Leia understood that he may have been addressing himself to Han, but he was speaking to her. "I'd defeated Anakin. But my powers weren't strong enough to overcome Palpatine. Anakin killed Palpatine before he died himself. I have no doubt that he was our father. And that there was still good in him."

"But not a hell of a lot of it," Han observed. "And if all this is true – if the old man knew this all along—why did he let you get involved in this war without telling you the truth in the first place? This is something you maybe should have known before you hopped my ship to Alderaan, right?"

Luke hesitated. Han, with his unerring way of sniffing out the chinks in someone's armor, had once again hit the mark. "I do feel somewhat betrayed by Ben," Luke admitted. "He and Yoda thought I wasn't strong enough in the Force to be able to cope with the truth. But if they wanted to protect me from the Empire, they should have told me."

"And they should have changed your name," Han replied. "Kid, I'm not claiming to be the best strategist in the galaxy, but it sounds to me like you were being used as Vader bait all along."

"Maybe I was," Luke shrugged. "But if I was being used to kill Vader, at least I managed to be in a position where he could redeem himself before he died. He died as Anakin Skywalker, our father."

Luke turned to Leia, looking for some small acknowledgement that she hadn't entirely discounted the idea of Anakin's redemption. Han could have told Luke that was a really bad move, but he didn't much feel like it. As far as he could tell, Luke was being a naïve do-gooder again, which Han had always felt was Luke's biggest flaw. Of course, that tendency – one he shared with his sister - got Han rescued from a living death in a block of carbonite, so he couldn't complain too much.

"Stop it, Luke," Leia replied acidly. "I'm grateful that Vader had a moment of decency at the end of his pathetic existence. But one good act to save his son – when he knew he was probably dying – is far from redemption for all the things he did."

"Leia, you have to forgive him or it will someday destroy you."

Han rolled his eyes. Vader would have been first on Han's list of people you just don't forgive. Ever.

"Forgive him?" Leia exploded. "Do you know what you're asking of me, Luke? Do you understand all the ways that monster destroyed my life and even now, from beyond the grave, may be destroying it even further?"

She cast an anxious glance at Han. Suddenly Han Solo felt like the dumbest nerf in the galaxy. Even he wasn't arrogant enough to believe that she was talking only about him when she acknowledged even a dead Vader's ability to scar her further, but clearly that was a big part of her fear. In the heat of this tangle over Vader, Han had completely lost the thread. Leia had been so hesitant to tell him what was going on over the last day because she truly believed that Han would walk away from her once he knew the truth. And obviously, she still believed he had a foot out the door.

"I've been trying to hold together all the parts of me that Vader broke since the day I met you." Leia continued. "He made me watch when he killed two billion people on a planet I was trained to be willing to give my life for. Two billion people, Luke. I watched them die."

"That was Tarkin," Luke responded quietly, weakening in his defense of Anakin. He remembered Ben's words about the destruction of the planet. Millions of voices had cried out in terror, he said, and were suddenly silenced. Vader hadn't stopped it; Vader had approved. Where was the good part of Anakin when that happened?

"Yes, you're right, Vader only stood there pinning my arms so that I couldn't turn away to avoid watching everyone I loved die. And that was after he'd tortured me with the mind probe which, but the way, was almost unendurably painful. Then he tortured me again on Bespin, and tortured Han even worse – for no particular reason other than to cause him pain. And the next day I stood in the carbon-freezing chamber thinking I was very likely going to watch Han die as Vader tested it on him to make sure he could safely use it on you."

Leia took a deep breath. She was going to lose control and start bawling if she went any further, and she couldn't let that happen. There was too much war left to fight for her to start giving in to this pain now. Someday, she knew, she would have to face down all the pain she'd held at bay, but not now. "So maybe if you can see good in the man, it's only because you didn't have a front-row seat to so much of the harm he did, and don't want – desperately – to believe that he's going to face some justice for that somewhere in the universe."

"He did cut off my hand, Leia."

"He carved up my heart," Leia replied. "I'm sorry. I can't discuss this any further." She turned to Han, her reserve cracking. "I'm so sorry."

With that, she quickly left the hold. Han heard her shut the door to his cabin. At least he knew where to find her, but he was at a loss as to what exactly he'd say when he did.

"Kid, you should go," he said to Luke. "She came here to talk to me and this got all turned around."

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but Han raised a hand to stop him. "Luke, really. Whatever you're gonna say, it'll keep. I need to go to Leia."

Luke nodded. "Okay. You're right. Han…I'm sorry too."

"I'm not angry at you, kid. It is what it is," Han sighed.

Luke turned and punched in the code to lower the gangway. He walked into the cool Endor night and closed up the ship behind him. He couldn't deny that all of what both Han and Leia had said was true. Leia had suffered, repeatedly and directly, at the hands of their father. Luke had only been face-to-face with him twice – three times, if he counted the battle over the first Death Star – and twice he had emerged victorious from those encounters, even achieving what he considered the ultimate victory in rescuing his father from the Dark Side. Luke felt no untoward pride in that, only satisfaction that the Dark Side had been beaten back. But he couldn't get that number, two billion people dead on Alderaan, out of his head. Countless more had been killed or enslaved during Palpatine and Vader's reign of terror. Although Anakin had been redeemed in the Force – his appearance as in Jedi robes along with Yoda and Ben tonight convinced Luke of that – the incalculable harm that had been wrought on the galaxy, and on his sister, was undeniable and unremedied. Luke wondered what harm he had yet to find as he sought to uncover the legacy of his father. Was Leia right? Was he being a fool to openly forgive Anakin without considering the lack of justice for Vader's many victims?

Luke sighed. He just wanted to sleep, but he was in for a long night of meditating in the Force, searching for a satisfactory answer.

NNNNNNNNNNNNN

"Leia?" Han knocked on the door of his cabin. She opened the door slowly. So this is it, she thought. The moment I've been dreading for the last day; the moment Han, knowing everything, would have to make his decision about what it meant to him. She didn't notice that she was trembling as she looked up at him.

Han did. He could see she was utterly terrified about what he was going to say. The fact that she was as worried about losing him as he was about losing her felt both wonderful and awful at the same time. Yes, he'd been willing to step back if it was Luke she really wanted, but it would have split his heart in two to do it. He studied her face silently for a moment, hoping the right words would come out.

She couldn't bear his silence for one more moment. "Han, do you want me to go?" she asked.

Suddenly he knew exactly what he wanted to say. What he'd wanted to say for longer than he'd ever admit.

"No, I want you to stay for good. Marry me, Leia."


End file.
